Home sales evaporate in impacted areas after LA wildfires

In Pacific Palisades, home sales declined by 56% year over year. That equated to only 12 home sales in the area in February following the LA wildfires. Altadena’s story had a similarly dismal message as Redfin reported that home sales there dropped 43% year over year. That shakes out to only 32 home sales in February.

Notably, the median sale price in the Pacific Palisades jumped by 32% since February 2024. But in Altadena, where the majority of neighborhoods are Black, sale prices actually declined during the year ending in February 2025.

While sales tanked and prices shifted, new listings slowed. In the Palisades, there were 23 new listings in February 2025, down 12% year over year. Altadena, meanwhile, posted a 6% decline in new listings.

There are currently 166 homes for sale in the Palisades and 74 in Altadena, according to Redfin listing data.

Despite the turmoil caused by the wildfires, the broader housing market in the Los Angeles metro area saw more sales activity during the same time period. Redfin said that LA-area home sales rose by 6.2% annually in February. This represented “a bigger increase than any other major metro area,” the report explained. New listings rose by 13.6% and the median sales price grew 5.1% to $920,000 during the year.

“The Los Angeles market is accelerating mostly due to pent-up demand; many prospective buyers and sellers backed off in January and returned to the market in February,” Redfin wrote in the report. “Los Angeles agents say there are pockets of the metro area, especially places considered relatively safe from fires, where every listing is selling quickly with multiple offers.”

One Redfin agent said that sellers are emerging to capitalize on higher prices and increased demand from those that were displaced by the wildfires.